Jennifer's Journal

Hello, December – Goodbye, Nano!

Published on December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry33 Comments

Where did November go, people? Don’t get me wrong, I am happy – but a little surprised – that December is already here. You see, I’ve been busy: for the first time, I have successfully completed the National Novel Writing Month Challenge, and I did it two days before the end-of-the-month deadline.

Was it difficult to write 50 thousand words in 28 days, you may ask?

What do you think?

After sitting still for so long, it was wonderful to have the freedom to get up and move around again. But I have to confess: I felt a tad wobbly at first.

This is how I walked Friday evening when I finished:

tumblr_ndiar2xItx1u1o9j3o1_400 — **Arthritis? What arthritis?**

Joking aside, I am super happy I took on the challenge, and would recommend Nanowrimo to anyone who wants to see results in a short period of time. It is an effective way to kick procrastination and writer’s block to the curb, especially if you have a writing buddy who is as determined as you are. Wendy kept me accountable, and we both finished with days to spare.

So now I have a first draft of the Calmer Girls sequel, minus a couple of concluding chapters that I will finish this month. Those chapters, along with the additions that will go in when I begin editing in January, should bring the word count up to 70 thousand plus.

The Nano website suggested I treat myself to a T-shirt showing off their logo, but I did better than that. Being Black Friday, I got Santa to order me a new camera online for Christmas, saving himself over $200 in the process.

This is me now:

Elf — **A new camera for my blog! Yes!!!**

Did you take part in Nanowrimo this year?

Have you ever challenged yourself with a creative deadline and won?

Please share your experience with me. 🙂

To Sea by Virtue

Published on November 26, 2014November 26, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry25 Comments

One sunny afternoon last month, we accompanied friends aboard the Virtue, their Beneteau 400 sailing vessel.
We were only too happy to share in the enjoyment of the October sea and sky.

024 — *Rowing in the little boat to the big boat*

“Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“I never get tired of the blue sky.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“Roll on, deep and dark blue ocean, roll… Man marks the earth with ruin, but his control stops with the shore.” – Lord Byron

“Long may your big jib draw.” – legendary Newfoundland saying meaning good wishes for the future

“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” – Alaine Gerbault

“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.”
– Arthur C. Clarke

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
– William Arthur Ward

“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” – Buddha

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

“I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” – John Masefield

Have you ever gone sailing on a beautiful day such as this?

Smiling at Death

Published on November 22, 2014November 27, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry15 Comments

I’m too tired from novel writing to come up with anything of my own this week, so I’m sharing a post from Journey Into Poetry. Christine is one of my favorite bloggers for the poems she writes.
Here is one I found especially moving. Love and miss you, Dad. x

journeyintopoetry

Your whole life was wrapped around you
on that day,
propped up on a pillowy white cloud,
a few extra ones, cool, crisp
arranged in a special way,
a privilege for the dying.

How could your tiny fragile frame
have carried so much,
braved storms at sea,
ministered prayers from pulpit.
The swimming lessons you gave me;
you had the patience of Job.
And the turnip faces you carved
for Halloween, they were perfect;
(you would have cringed at pumpkins.)
But then you could do everything in my eyes;
you knew everything too.
I remember you trying to
show me how to use a slide rule;
I still haven’t a clue.

And there,
on a warm day, early May
in a special bed for the dying,
lay all of that,
your whole life in a cradle of time,
and it weighed next to nothing –

except for your smile.
Your…

View original post 82 more words

Imagine (and a Birthday)

Published on November 15, 2014July 19, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry32 Comments

This is the last in the series of my best loved Peace Songs.

It’s also my beautiful sister’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Lynn. Love you lots! ❤

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You, you may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one

written by John Lennon

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding

Peace Train

Published on November 13, 2014November 12, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry23 Comments

Written by Cat Stevens

If There’s A God In Heaven (What’s He Waiting For?)

Published on November 9, 2014November 27, 2020 by J. Kelland Perry17 Comments

Torn from their families
Mothers go hungry
To feed their children
But children go hungry

There’s so many big men
They’re out making millions
When poverty’s profits
Just blame the children

If there’s a God in heaven
What’s he waiting for?
If he can’t hear the children
Then he must see the war

But it seems to me
That he leads his lambs
To the slaughter house
And not the promised land

Dying for causes
They don’t understand
We’ve been taking their futures
Right out of their hands

They need the handouts
To hold back the tears
There’s so many crying
But so few that hear

If there’s a God in heaven
What’s he waiting for?
If he can’t hear the children
Then he must see the war

But it seems to me
That he leads his lambs
To the slaughter house
And not the promised land

If there’s a God in heaven
What’s he waiting for?
If he can’t hear the children
Then he must see the war

But it seems to me
That he leads his lambs
To the slaughter house
And not the promised land

If there’s a God in heaven
Well, what’s he waiting for?
If there’s a God in heaven
What’s he waiting for?

Repeat

Written by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, and Davey Johnstone

Historic Grand Bank

Published on October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry22 Comments

It seems the older I get, the more I treasure the chance to travel around this province. Even when I visit a Newfoundland community I’ve been in before, it’s as if I see it with new and more appreciative eyes.

Earlier this week, I accompanied Paul on one of his little road trips for work, this time on the Burin Peninsula Heritage Run. Our destination was the vibrant town of Grand Bank. I hadn’t been there in over a decade.

It was a rainy trip. But Good Fortune smiled down, the sun came out as soon as we got there, and so did my trusty camera.

The authentic old buildings and heritage architecture I found especially charming. I’ll let the pictures tell the story of what I loved about historic Grand Bank.

155 — **The Inn by the Sea Bed and Breakfast**

162 — **The Thorndyke – Registered Heritage B & B**

169 — **…and another Widow’s Walk, a popular feature of long ago fishing communities.**

And Old meets New:

186 — **The Provincial Seamen’s Museum**

192 — **Thank you for the lovely visit, Grand Bank.**

Where do you like to go for a road trip?

Writing, writing, and more writing? Write on!

Published on October 22, 2014January 17, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry55 Comments

Hi, everyone. I thought I’d pass along a quick update today about my novel and what has happened lately in my life as an author.

I am encouraged by the reception Calmer Girls has gotten in the publishing world. In particular, I am now ~~patiently~~ waiting on those who have expressed interest in my query, synopsis and sample chapters, and who subsequently requested the full manuscript for review. (Yay!)

Of course, my optimism is tempered with caution and awareness of the reality that these are only first steps. The road to getting traditionally published is a long, slow and arduous one for many new authors, and I am no exception. I read yesterday of a successful novelist who endured TWENTY-NINE rejections before his first book was picked up. And it ultimately made it to the New York Times best-seller list!

So now while my manuscript is out of my hands, I continue on with the sequel. In that area I have made progress, but not as much as I would like due to life getting in the way (Funny how that always seems to happen!).

For this reason, I am considering taking part in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is called. This is a yearly internet event that takes place in November, not only nationally but all over the world. The object is to write 50,000 words of a first draft in 30 days, which means participants write an average of 1667 words a day.

Awesome? Terrifying? Doable? Impossible? You tell me.

If I do indeed sign up, some of my activities will no doubt have to be curtailed or relegated to the back burner. My Friday Bouquet will be suspended for the time being, and my other blog posts will be brief. I won’t be able to read others’ blogs as much as I am used to. But I shall return, my lovelies!

What do you think of such a project? Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? If you are, tell me all about it below. We can give each other moral support. 🙂

Explore Further:
One Wild Word: Get ready for NaNoWriMo by choosing your novel’s story question

Kristen Lamb’s Blog: 8 Elements to NAILING Your Plot and Owning NaNo

Cat Dreams

Published on October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry43 Comments

Good day, my friends and fellow felines. Vivian K. Perry here, returning as guest host on Jennifer’s Journal.

Jennifer caught me unawares one morning last week, indulging in a wonderfully delicious cat nap. These pics she took make me wonder: do humans dream the same as I do?

Jennifer says I get twitchy at times when I sleep, where my paws seem to act out the dream-movie playing in my head. In the dream-movie, I might be chasing a shrew or a mouse, or I could be trying to catch up to Paul on a walk.

I wonder, is it the cat version of REM sleep? Except it’s RPM sleep – short for “Rapid Paw Movement”?

I think the camera captured me here resting up for another night of fun and frolic. While the weather is still mild, Maisie and I enjoy napping for most of the day, so we can return to our wild, nocturnal adventures as the moon rises and darkness descends…

…then we pad back home at the break of dawn to stir the house with urgent meows and vibrating purrs.
Time to get up and fill our bowls, humans!

“How nice it is to think that feline dreams, like our own, are painted with creative brush strokes from time to time. Perhaps my cats and I even share the same dream…where every cat has a safe, warm place to sleep.” ~ Barbara L. Diamond

“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can play together all night.” ~ Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

Before I sign off of course, Jennifer insists I include a sleeping Maisie in my post:

Wishing you all – and my dear sister – the sweetest of dreams! ♥

Further Reading:

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreamy

I Dream – a poem by Jennifer

Do Cats Dream When They Sleep?

Friday Bouquet #10

Published on October 10, 2014February 12, 2020 by J. Kelland Perry

worddreams…

Jacqui Murray is an author, a journalist, a teacher, and a wealth of helpful advice for all things wordy.

I have learned a lot from her posts she fills with hints, lists, how-tos, and reviews.

As Jacqui says on her About page:

I love writing–always have–so this blog will cover writing topics, with brief forays into other things. If you know writers, we’re intrigued by everything around us. Life is full of characters, plot lines, unique settings, and we want to experience it all.

Here’s a recent post that I found valuable and you might too:

Writers Tips #78: 8 Writing Tricks You Won’t Read Anywhere Else

Go and check out WordDreams for help with your writing and blogging questions, and say hi to Jacqui for me. 🙂

*Comments are closed here but open on the blogger’s page.

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